Employee Relations Lead

We're transforming the grocery industry At Instacart, we invite the world to share love through food because we believe everyone should have access to the food they love and more time to enjoy it together. Where others see a simple need for grocery delivery, we see exciting complexity and endless opportunity to serve the varied needs of our community. We work to deliver an essential service that customers rely on to get their groceries and household goods, while also offering safe and flexible earnings opportunities to Instacart Personal Shoppers. Instacart has become a lifeline for millions of people, and we’re building the team to help push our shopping cart forward. If you’re ready to do the best work of your life, come join our table. Instacart is a Flex First team There’s no one-size fits all approach to how we do our best work. Our employees have the flexibility to choose where they do their best work—whether it’s from home, an office, or your favorite coffee shop—while staying connected and building community through regular in-person events. Learn more about our flexible approach to where we work. Overview Instacart is looking for a strategic, business-minded Employee Relations (ER) Leader to build and lead a modern, thoughtful, and scalable ER function. This role sits within HR and reports to the Head of HRBPs, operating at the critical intersection of business partnership, risk awareness, and people strategy. You will evolve Instacart’s employee relations philosophy, partnering closely with HRBPs and Legal to ensure consistent, compliant, and values-aligned outcomes across complex employee matters. This role will advise on sensitive performance and conduct cases, lead terminations and exits, and design scalable ER frameworks that balance thoughtful risk management with a human-centered employee experience. We are especially interested in candidates with prior employment law experience and experienced senior HRBPs with deep ER expertise are strongly encouraged to apply. No bar license is required. About the Job Strategic ER Leadership Develop and implement Instacart’s holistic Employee Relations strategy in partnership with HRBPs and Legal. Build clear frameworks and standards for managing performance concerns, conduct issues, investigations, and terminations. Establish consistent decision-making principles that balance fairness, business impact, and appropriate risk awareness. Identify trends and systemic risks in employee matters and proactively recommend policy, training, and process improvements. Terminations Complex Exits Lead and advise on complex involuntary terminations across the organization. Partner with Legal and People COEs on structuring exit packages within established guidelines and approval frameworks. In consultation with Legal, manage post-separation communications with departing employees, including structured severance discussions conducted within defined parameters. Identify matters requiring Legal escalation and ensure timely coordination. Ensure consistency, documentation quality, and compliance across exit practices. Investigations Sensitive Employee Oversee and conduct workplace investigations involving performance concerns, conduct issues, and policy violations. Partner with Legal to structure investigations involving heightened risk or potential legal exposure. Ensure investigations are thorough, objective, and well-documented. Support HRBPs and business leaders in determining appropriate outcomes based on investigation findings. Establish clear governance and standards for how investigations are initiated, conducted, and resolved across the organization. HRBP Partnership Act as a trusted thought partner to HRBPs and business leaders on complex employee matters. Coach HRBPs on documentation, consistency, and structured decision-making. Elevate the ER capability of the HRBP team through training, playbooks, and case reviews. Process Infrastructure Build scala ... (truncated, view full listing at source)